Learn more about Sacrum Profanum Festival, the hosts for Warp25 celebrations in September

01/07/2014

Sacrum Profanum is an international project and will be hosting Warp artists at three events, part of the Modern!Now cycle, in September. Learn more about the festival and the involvement of Warp artists.

Sacrum Profanum Festival is an international project that has earned a reputation as one of the most interesting European music events. The festival aims to blur the lines between contemporary and experimental music, often seen as difficult and incomprehensible. Its importance is founded in the participation of the best ensembles playing contemporary music today, alongside key figures from the world's alternative scene. The festival presents performances from Ensemble Modern or Klangforum Wien next to Aphex Twin, Jonny Greenwood (Radiohead), Jónsi, Adrian Utley (Portishead), Will Gregory (Goldfrapp), Kraftwerk or Sigur Rós. The prestige of Sacrum Profanum Festival is enhanced by the presence of artists regarded as icons of contemporary music; in 2011 Steve Reich, the master of minimalism, celebrated his 75th birthday in Krakow and this year Philip Glass and Laurie Anderson confirmed their participation. In 2014, the festival will feature London Sinfonietta (GB), Kronos Quartet (US) and Sinfonietta Cracovia, one of the best Polish orchestras.

The festival has won the some of the most important Polish awards and distinctions, even being included in the official calendar of the Polish Presidency. In 2011, the American edition of the festival was marked by a joint performance from Steve Reich and Krzysztof Penderecki in the Alice Tully Hall of New York’s Lincoln Center, one of the world's most prestigious concert halls. Recommended by prestigious music magazines, such as Gramophone, BBC Music Magazine, and Mezzo Television, the festival is praised equally by critics and the public. Every year Sacrum Profanum events are reported internationally by over 160 journalists.